


Life is Good

by wenwalke



Category: Numb3rs
Genre: Angst, Bromance, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 17:14:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7323835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wenwalke/pseuds/wenwalke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Charlie leaves for a conference in the middle of a case, Don gets mad. But when the bad guys go after Charlie, can Don reach him in time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is another of my old Numb3rs stories from October of 2009.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or any of the characters, they belong to CBS. However, the plot and any mistakes are mine.

Special Agent Don Eppes sighed. The man in front of him was really starting to annoy him. Not that that was unusual. He’d been doing the same thing all his life. But right now Don didn’t have time for Charlie’s irritating behaviour. He was trying to solve an intense drug case, and his brother was supposed to be helping. However, Charlie had decided that going to a conference at the California State University in Bakersfield was more important. 

“Charlie, you promised to have the equation ready today. You can’t take off to some math conference in the middle of a case.”

Charlie was just as annoyed with Don. He’d told Don, two days ago, that he would have to leave today. This trip with Larry had been planned weeks ago, and Charlie couldn’t change that. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t warned Don well in advance, and the results of his equation were almost ready. 

“Don, I told you I had to leave today. I reworked the equation after the last raid, and the laptop is running through the data. I’ll email it to you from the car.”

“Not good enough, Charlie. We lost two agents on that last raid. Somehow they knew we were coming and set a trap. If something goes wrong this time I’ll need you to input more data.” Why did Charlie always have to argue? Couldn’t he see he was needed here right now?

Charlie was busy packing for his trip. “Listen, Don. I’m just a phone call away. My cell phone is fully charged. There are no dead zones between here and Bakersfield. Therefore, there’s no problem with you calling me.” Turning, Charlie headed to the bathroom to collect more things to pack in his bag. “Besides, I’ll send you the equation as well. You’re quite capable of inputting data.” 

Don sat down on Charlie’s bed and thought about the case they were trying to solve. This gang of drug dealers proved hard to nail down. Every time they got close, somehow the gang managed to move their operation. The last time they’d left a booby trap which cost two agents their lives. Don was convinced that there was someone inside the FBI leaking information to the gang. So far he’d shared his suspicions with his team, as he knew they were trustworthy. Charlie knew as well, and claimed that his new equation would pinpoint the leak, and where the gang had set up their new operation. Don was also worried that the gang would find out that Charlie was on the case and go after him. He wanted Charlie in Los Angeles where he could keep an eye on him, not running off to Bakersfield.

“Stop worrying about me, Don.” Charlie said as he came back into the room. “I know you think I could be at risk if the gang finds out I’m working on this case. But I’ve worked here the whole time, only communicating by email or cell phone. No one in your office, apart from your team, knows what I’ve been doing. My leaving town for a couple of days should make you less worried, as I’ll be away from the gang and your office.”

Before Don could answer Amita came into the room. “Oh hi Don, I didn’t know you were in here.” Feeling the tension between the brothers, and seeing Don’s annoyed looks, she turned to leave. “I’ll come back later.”

“No it’s okay, Amita. You stay. I was just leaving. I can’t talk sense into Charlie anyway. Maybe you should try.” Don got up, and glaring at Charlie left the room and went downstairs.

“What’s Don talking about Charlie, and why was he annoyed with you? Were you two fighting over something?”

“He thinks I should stay here where he can protect me, and be available to him, instead of going with Larry to Bakersfield.” Charlie finishing his packing then turned to Amita. “He’s worried about this drug case we’re working on. I told him that by going away I’ll be in less danger than if I stay here. No one, apart from Don’s team, knows about my work on the case, so I think he’s worrying over nothing.”

Amita decided that she wasn’t going to get between Charlie and Don in this argument. They were brothers and often argued, but she was always worried about Charlie working on FBI cases, especially ones where gangs were involved. With that in mind, Amita came to a decision. “Hey Charlie, would you mind if I came with you and Larry to the conference. I finished working on the papers I was grading, and I’d love a few days away.”

“Amita, now you’re worried too, but it would be great if you came along, and I know Larry wouldn’t mind. Hurry up and pack. He’ll be here in a few minutes.” Giving Amita a quick kiss, Charlie picked up his bag and headed downstairs to wait for Larry, and to try and reason some more with Don.

When he got downstairs Don had already left and Alan was sitting in the living room reading a paper. He looked up as Charlie came into the room. “What were you and Don arguing about, Charlie? I could hear your voices down here, and Don left in a huff.”

Nothing that happened in this house ever seemed to get passed Alan. Charlie was sure Alan had a sixth sense about Don and himself. He always knew when they were fighting, especially when they were kid,s and even now as adults.

“Don doesn’t think I should be leaving town just now. He wants me to stay available to him just in case he needs me. This trip to Bakersfield has been planned for weeks, and he knew that.” Charlie had been checking his laptop as he spoke. He could see that the equation was still about an hour away from finishing. By then they would be halfway to Bakersfield.

“Did you finish the work you were doing for him?”

“No, the laptop’s still processing the data, but it’ll be ready in an hour or so. I told him I would email it to the office and he could call with any questions. What else can he expect? I’m not an agent that he can order around. I do have a regular job and need to go to this conference.”

Just then, Amita came down with an overnight bag and sat it next to Charlie’s by the door. Alan looked at the bag, then Amita. “I didn’t know that you were going with Charlie. I thought you were staying here?”

“I was Alan, but I finished grading papers and decided to go with Charlie and Larry to Bakersfield.”

They all turned as they heard a car pull into the driveway, and the horn beep. Charlie and Amita picked up their bags and headed out to the car. Alan followed them out. “Hi Larry, are you driving to Bakersfield? You’re not taking the Prius Charlie?”

Larry smiled at Alan. “Hi Alan, yes I’m driving. Charles wants to keep an eye on the progress of his equation. Hey Amita are you coming with us? Love to have you along.”

“Yes Larry, I thought I’d take a break and come with you.”

Charlie finished putting the bags in the trunk and got in the front passenger seat. “Larry decided to rent a bigger car for more comfort dad. Besides, I need to watch my laptop so that I can email the results to Don, and I can’t do that if I’m driving.”

“Okay, have fun at your conference, and Larry, drive carefully.” Alan gave Amita a quick kiss on the cheek, and closed the back passenger door.

“I’m always a careful driver, Alan. We’ll see you in a couple of days.” With that Larry turned the car out of the driveway and headed towards the I5 to Bakersfield.


	2. Chapter 2

Don arrived back at the FBI office in a bad mood. David and Colby picked up on it, and tried to stay out of his way. They knew that he was just at the Craftsman, and that Charlie was supposed to leave today. From Don’s mood, they figured Charlie hadn’t agreed to stay behind and help with the case.

Don stood up to leave his desk and motioned to Colby to come over. “Colby watch for an email from Charlie. I have to go talk to the Assistant Director about this case.” 

Colby brought the file he was reading with him and sat at Don’s desk to wait for Charlie’s email. When Don came back, 45 minutes later, there was still no email. Colby quickly returned to his own desk as Don was grumbling about kid brothers who couldn’t do what they were supposed to on time.

The phone on Don’s desk rang. “Hi dad, I was hoping you were Charlie, I still haven’t received an email from him yet.”

“I know Don, Charlie sent it to me. He thought it would be safer that way.” Alan knew Don would be annoyed. When he’d spoken to Charlie, he’d understood why Charlie hadn’t wanted to send his results to Don’s computer. 

“What? Why would he do that? If he’s mad at me, this is a very childish way of showing it.” The anger was evident in Don’s voice.

“Don, listen to me for a moment instead of getting mad, and you’ll understand. Charlie tried to call you but your voice mail picked up. He didn’t want to use the office line in case someone heard. His equation found the leak in your office to be one of the computer techs. He figures the guy’s been monitoring your email, and maybe your calls. Then warning the drug gang before you can get to them.”

Don calmed down considerably after realising he’d had his cell off during the meeting and hadn’t turned it back on. “What’s the name of the tech?” 

“Roger Ward. Call me when you have him and I’ll forward the email on.” With that Alan hung up.

Don told David and Colby about the call then headed back to the Assistant Director’s office to fill him in. When he came back, he and Colby went to the tech department to question Roger Ward. 

Don took Roger into the interrogation room. He slapped the file on the table, “Two dead agents! It seems you’ve been leaking information from this office. These deaths are on you. Best you cooperate and tell me about it.”

Roger smiled, “So Charlie finally figured out it was me. That’s too bad for him. I’m not telling you anything.” From Roger’s defiant attitude Don could tell he’d get nowhere with him. He left to talk to David, who’d called Alan as soon as they had Roger in custody. After viewing the email David had a SWAT team suited up and ready to go.

Telling David what Roger said made Don realize that maybe Charlie had been right, and getting out of town was the best thing right now.

The raid on the gang’s operation went smoothly. Within 30 minutes of receiving Charlie’s email, they’d arrested everyone except a couple of enforcers who were not there when the raid took place. 

“We’ll pick them up later. Get an APB out on them right away.” Don was pleased that everything had gone so well, and decided to call Charlie and tell him. Also he planned to smooth over the argument they’d had earlier. He figured that by now they’d be half way to Bakersfield. After turning his cell back on, Don tried to call Charlie but it went straight to voice mail. Must still be mad at me, Don thought. 

Just as Don was putting away his cell, he realised the voice mail light was flashing. Looking at the phone he saw that he had two voice mails from Charlie. Smiling, he thought, good, maybe Charlie was apologising and he wouldn’t have to.

The first voice mail was the one from earlier telling him about Roger Ward. The second voice mail had Don suddenly running towards his SUV. 

“Don we need help. There’s a car trying to run us off the road. It’s a blue SUV like yours, licence plate starts with 249, I’ll try…” 

Don stared at his phone in shock. What had he just heard? The call ended abruptly with what sounded like two gun shots followed by a crash.

Waving at David and Colby to join him, Don jumped into his SUV. “David. Get a trace on Charlie’s cell phone, now! I just got a voicemail from him. It sounded like they were shot at and run off the road. Colby call my dad. See if he’s heard from Charlie in the last quarter of an hour. The call to my voice mail was made ten minutes ago.” Don was already speeding towards the highway to Bakersfield with lights and siren going.

David hung up from talking to the tech at FBI headquarters. “Don, they can’t trace Charlie’s phone. It must have been damaged in the crash. I told them to try tracing his laptop, but that will take longer and it may have been damaged as well.”

“Damn,” Don said. Charlie’s little Prius wouldn’t be a match for something the size of an SUV.

Colby was still talking to Alan, asking when he had last heard from Charlie. “Okay, hang on a minute Alan.” Covering the phone Colby asked, “Do you want me to tell him about the voice mail?”

“Yeah I guess so. Find out who was driving.” Don knew that his dad would be mad if he didn’t tell him what was going on.

Colby put his phone on speaker so Don could hear, then told Alan about Charlie’s message. “We’re heading towards Bakersfield now to try and find them. Who was driving?”

“Oh my god,” Alan said breathlessly. “Larry was driving. He rented a bigger car, as he thought the Prius was too small. Amita went with them. I’m going to head out too.”

“No Alan. You need to stay there in case one of them calls. We’ll call as soon as we know something.” Colby closed his cell and had to grab on to something as Don took a corner at top speed.

“I thought Amita was staying home. David, see if the techs can trace Amita’s cell.” Don needed to concentrate on his driving because of the speed he was going at, but he thought it should only take 30 minutes to catch up to them.


	3. Chapter 3

It took Larry thirty minutes just to get out of LA. The traffic had been slow going because of an accident. 

Charlie’s laptop beeped as they were leaving the city. “Oh! I can’t send this to the FBI,” he muttered. Taking out his cell, Charlie called Don but it went straight to voicemail. “Don, the leak is a computer tech named Roger Ward. I’ll wait to send you the results until you have him in custody. Call me back.”

Charlie was shifting around restlessly in his seat some 10 minutes later when Don still hadn’t called him back. 

Amita leaned forward, “Listen Charlie you need to calm down. I’m sure there’s a good reason Don hasn’t called you back yet.” She looked ahead. “Larry, pull the car over into that lookout area please. Charlie, why don’t you and I take a walk along the trail over there? When you’re calmer, we’ll carry on.” 

“Okay, but I’ll send the results to my dad and have him call Don. I think Don’s still mad and not taking my calls.” Charlie took out his phone and called his dad, and at the same time emailed the results of his data search. “Listen dad, the leak at the FBI is a computer tech named Roger Ward. I need you to call Don and let him know. I have emailed you the results so you can forward them on when Don says it is safe.”

“Why didn’t you call Don with this Charlie? You’re not still mad at him are you?”

“No dad, I tried to call him but it went straight to voicemail. That was ten minutes ago and he still hasn’t called me back. You try calling him. Maybe he’ll talk to you. Bye dad.” With that Charlie got out of the car and walked away. Amita looked at Larry, then got out and followed Charlie.

They were gone for over half an hour, but when they finally came back Charlie was calmer and smiling at Amita. “Sorry Larry. I’m okay now. Let’s continue our journey shall we?”

Larry was glad to see them. He’d been wondering if they’d gotten lost. He started the car and soon they were headed back out onto the highway. Ten minutes later a blue SUV pulled up along side of them.

Larry frowned as he looked over at the SUV. “What’s up with these guys? They should’ve passed me by now. They seem to be keeping pace with us.”

Suddenly, the big vehicle swerved toward them, and Larry had to fight the wheel to keep them on the road. Charlie flipped open his cell to call Don but got his voice mail again. He decided he’d better leave Don as detailed a message as possible. Somehow he didn’t think he would get another chance. 

By now, the SUV had pulled slightly ahead of them.

Talking as fast as he could, Charlie was partway through his message when he felt something slam into his left shoulder and he dropped the phone. Then he heard a second gunshot and the car swerved off the road and down an embankment toward a stand of trees.

Charlie realised that he’d been shot, and probably Larry as well. That would explain why they were rushing towards the trees at high speed. He saw the windshield break and branches enter the car, then everything went black.

Larry had tried to control the car as it left the road. The bullet left a furrow along the right side of his head. He was losing consciousness fast, but had time to see the trees they were heading for. The airbag deployed as they hit, but the car swerved to the side and he hit his head on the side window. His last thought was that apparently his rental did not have side impact airbags.

Amita saw first Charlie and then Larry get shot. As they swerved down the embankment she could only watch as the trees approached. She tried to brace herself as they impacted with first a small, then a much larger tree. As the car swerved to the side, her head hit the window and blackness descended.

It was deathly quiet when Amita woke. She was still sitting in the back seat, and it appeared that her seatbelt had held. Putting her hand up to her head, she felt a large bump and a sticky substance. Amita released her seatbelt and tried to move forward so that she could see Charlie and Larry. Pain shot through her chest and across her right shoulder. The seatbelt had held as it was supposed too, but the resulting bruises and possible fractures were not good. 

Looking at her watch, she realised it was over 30 minutes since the accident. There was no sign of emergency vehicles. It was possible that as they were down an embankment no one, other that the men in the SUV had seen them leave the road. That meant no help was coming. I have to call for help she thought. Luckily her cell phone was still in her pocket. Taking it out and turning it on, Amita decided to call Don, not 911. She wasn’t sure if the SUV that had run them off the road would come back, and she knew that Don would make sure help got there fast.

Amita looked to the front of the car. All she could see was parts of a tree that had come through the windshield. “Charlie? Larry? Talk to me. Are you okay?” There was no answer. 

When the call connected, Amita spoke even before Don finished saying hello. “Don. We were run off the road by a blue SUV. We are down an embankment, and I don’t think we are visible from the road. You have to send help fast.”

“Amita, sweetie, slow down. We are already on our way to you.” Don spoke calmly so that Amita would stay calm. “How far towards Bakersfield are you?”

“Not that far. We stopped for a while. I just woke up. I can’t see Charlie, or Larry. The front of the car is filled with tree branches and leaves.”

“Okay, we’re having the techs trace your location. I’m going to pass you over to Colby.” Don would rather have stayed talking to Amita, but knew that he needed to keep his attention on the road. 

Colby took the phone from Don. “Amita, are you hurt? Can you get out of the car?”

“I’m okay, I think. I hit my head, and my chest and shoulder hurt from the seatbelt. I’m not sure about getting out of the car Colby, just a minute while I try.” Amita put the cell phone down and tried to open the door to get out. The door refused to move, even when Amita turned and lying across the back seat kicked it as hard as she could. Tears of frustration were running down her cheek and she slid across the seat to try the other rear door. This door refused to open also, but on kicking it the door finally gave and flew open.

Picking up the phone she got out, now on Larry’s side of the car. She could see him leaning against the driver’s door, not moving. There was blood on his head, and she could see where the bullet had hit. His chest was rising and falling, so Amita knew that he was breathing. “Larry is leaning against the driver’s door. He has a head injury from a bullet graze but I can see him breathing.”

“Okay. What about Charlie? Go around and check on him.” Colby had put Don’s cell on speaker so they could all hear what Amita was saying. 

Going around the car to the passenger side Amita looked for Charlie, but could only see parts of the tree. I have to do something she thought. The door had cracked open during the accident, so Amita was able to pull it open the rest of the way. By pulling out the loose branches, and moving the others aside, Amita finally saw Charlie.

“Colby! Oh-my-god, there’s a branch across Charlie’s chest pinning him to the seat. I can see a bullet wound in his left shoulder, and blood everywhere. What do I do?” Amita was now close to panicking. Charlie looked badly, hurt and she had no idea how to help him.

“Stay calm Amita. The techs have your location pinpointed, and we’ll be there in five minutes. Is Charlie breathing okay, and can you slow down the bleeding?” Colby knew they had to keep Amita calm.

“He’s breathing. I can see his chest rising and falling, but very shallow breaths. I think I can press my sweater to the wound to slow it down.” 

“Good idea, Amita. But try not to move Charlie too much.” Colby covered the phone, “She’s using her head now. I think she’ll stay calm until we get there.”

Don had been listening to Colby talk to Amita and was worried about Charlie’s condition. “David, how far out are the emergency vehicles? We need them there as fast as possible.”

David had been talking on his cell phone to the local authorities, organising a rescue effort. “They’ll be a good 15 minutes behind us Don. There’s no way they can get there any faster.”

Just then a frantic Amita could be heard over the cell phone. “Colby! Colby! How far away are you? The blue SUV just pulled up, and the two men are getting out. Please hurry.”


	4. Chapter 4

Don was already driving faster than he should, but he increased his speed anyway. They were only a minute away, but he knew that anything could happen in a minute.

Colby was still talking to Amita. “Amita, have they seen you?”

“No Colby. I’m down on the passenger side of the car. What do I do?”

“Go into the trees, but be careful they don’t see you. We’re almost there. We’ll deal with them before they can do anything.” Colby hoped that what he was saying was true. He didn’t know how long it would take the men to reach the car and discover that Charlie and Larry were still alive.

Don turned off the lights and siren as he approached, he wanted to catch these guys, not scare them away. Before Don had the vehicle stopped, David and Colby jumped out of the SUV and ran to the top of the embankment. The two men, guns drawn, had almost reached the car. David called out, “FBI, drop your weapons!”

Both men turned, and started shooting at the agents, who returned fire, and the men went down. Don had slid the SUV to a stop and jumped out. Sliding down the embankment at breakneck speed, he kept pace with David and Colby who were headed towards the two men. Don ran past them straight towards the car.

He immediately went to the passenger side. His first sight of Charlie scared the hell out of him. Charlie was very pale. His breathing was shallow. The worse part was the amount of blood soaking Amita’s sweater, and the front of Charlie’s shirt. The branch pinning him to his seat was hampering his breathing. There were also a number of cuts on his face from other branches.

Amita came running out of the trees and fell to the ground beside Don. “Don. What’re we going to do? There’re so many branches. How’re we going to get him out?”

“Amita, the emergency vehicles aren’t far behind us,” Don tried to sound calmer that he felt. “But David, Colby, and I’ll try to get Charlie out. You’re hurt too, here sit down and rest.”

With Don’s help Amita turned and leaned back against the car, holding her injured shoulder, and resting her head on her knees. She knew Don would do everything he could for Charlie, and she was feeling so tired now that help had arrived. 

Don looked at Amita, realised that the adrenaline rush she’d been working on was draining away, and she might pass out. Lifting her up in his arms, he carried her around the car and laid her on the grass. He took off his jacket, folded it into a pillow, and gently laid her head on it. He could see the blood on the side of her head, and knew that her shoulder was hurt from the seatbelt. “Stay here, Amita. Rest. I’ll look after Charlie for you.”

“Thanks Don,” Amita smiled weakly as she closed her eyes.

David and Colby had cuffed the two men, and both agents were working on the driver’s door trying to get it open so they could check on Larry.

When Don got back around the car he saw that Charlie was now semiconscious, and moaning in pain. “Hey buddy. Don’t try to move. You’re pinned in the car by a branch. We need to find a way to move it before we can get you out.”

“Don?” A bewildered Charlie asked, “What, happened?”

“You were run off the road, Charlie. I got a voicemail from you just as it was happening, scared me to death. Amita called us when she came to, so we were able to trace her cell and find you.” 

“Amita? How is she? Larry, how is he? It all happened so fast.” 

Charlie was trying to push away the branch that was constricting his breathing. Don reached in and held him still. “Charlie stop. We’ll get you out soon.”

“It’s hard to breathe, Don. Oh God Don, they shot at us! Larry. They shot Larry! Why?”

Don didn’t know, but David did, so he answered Charlie’s question from the other side of the car. “They’re the two missing enforcers from the drug gang Charlie. We caught the rest of them right were you said they’d be, but those two were missing.”

Don looked stunned, “What? How did they know about Charlie? Ward! He must’ve told them Charlie was working the case. That explains his smug remark. Wait ’till I get my hands on him.”

David and Colby had managed to open the driver’s door. and were checking Larry over for injuries. Seeing only the head injury, and a possible broken right leg, they lifted him out of the car and laid him on the grass next to Amita. David took off his jacket and folded it into a pillow.

Colby went back to help Don with Charlie. From the little he’d seen, it didn’t look good for his friend. “Colby, let’s see if we can move this branch and get Charlie out of here.”

Colby climbed in the driver’s side of the car and looked over at Don. “You’re going to have to push the branch away from Charlie, while I try to pull it out, Don.”

Don took hold of the branch as close to Charlie as he could. He could see that Charlie was still conscious, “Buddy, this is going to hurt, try not to move, okay?”

Charlie looked first at Colby then Don. “Do it now, and get me out of here.”

Colby pulled as hard as he could, while Don pushed, but they couldn’t move the branch more than an inch. While that helped Charlie breathe a little easier, it didn’t give enough room to get him out.

David had gone up to the SUV for the emergency kit, but was now back. Seeing the frustration and worry on both Don and Colby’s faces, he realised they weren’t thinking very clearly. “Have you tried moving the seat back? We may be able to slide him out through the back door.”

Don and Colby looked at each other, both feeling like an idiot. Don reached down and tried to move the seat, without any success. Then he tried the lever to recline the seat, which caused the seat to fall back, and Charlie to cry out in pain.

“Sorry Buddy. The seat back is broken, I wasn’t able to hold it.”

Don and Colby slid Charlie to the back seat where David was now sitting. Then going around, they pulled him out and carried him over to Amita and Larry. They were careful how they carried him, as they knew he could have broken ribs from the tree branch. This time it was Colby who took off his jacket to make a pillow.

Don looked through the emergency kit for some kind of bandage to stop the blood that was still seeping from Charlie’s shoulder. He found a gauze pad, and pressed it against the wound. Then kneeling next to Charlie, Don looked at his brother’s pale face. “Charlie, I have to roll you over a little to see if there’s an exit wound. It’s going to hurt, I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay, Don. Do what you need too.” Charlie groaned in pain as Don, helped by Colby, rolled Charlie onto his side. Seeing the blood seeping from the back of Charlie’s shoulder, Don pressed another gauze pad against the wound and then wrapped a bandage around to hold everything in place.

As they rolled Charlie back, Don realised that the pain had caused Charlie to pass out. 

“I’m sure he’ll be okay Don, he’s tougher than he looks.” 

“I know Colby, and I hope you’re right.”

As Colby turned to Amita, Don tightened the bandage around Charlie’s shoulder. Taking Charlie’s hand in his, he sat back to wait for help to arrive. He noticed that Colby was working on cleaning Amita’s head wound, and David was doing the same for Larry.

It was another five minutes before the emergency vehicles arrived. Charlie was loaded into the first ambulance. The paramedics decided to move him before trying to treat him. It was going to take more that half an hour to reach the hospital, and they didn’t want to wait. Don went with them. He left David in charge of the scene. Another ambulance was used for Larry and Amita, with Colby accompanying them. The gang members were loaded into a third ambulance.

The paramedic immediately hooked Charlie up to oxygen and a heart monitor, and then started an IV.

Don retrieved his cell phone from the SUV before he got in the ambulance and now decided he’d better call his dad.

Alan answered on the first ring. Don figured he must’ve been sitting with the phone in his hand. “Dad…”

“Don, did you find them?”

“Yes dad, we found them. Their car had been run off the road, and they’re all hurt. We’re on our way to UCLA Medical Centre. It’ll take us another half hour to get there. Do you want me to send a car for you? I’m not sure you should be driving.”

“Is your brother going to be alright, Don? Tell me the truth. I need to know.”

“I don’t know, Dad, he’s hurt pretty bad. He was shot in the left shoulder, and may have some broken ribs. The paramedics are doing all they can for him, but he’s lost a lot of blood. Listen, I’m sending a car. You’ll still get there before we do, so wait at the house until you’re picked up. Please dad. Right now I don’t need to worry about you driving, while upset.” Don could hear how fast his dad’s breathing had increased as he told him about Charlie. “I’m hanging up now dad. Wait for the car, please?”

As soon as he hung up with his dad, Don called the FBI office and arranged for a car to pick Alan up and take him to the hospital. Just as he hung up, all the monitors attached to Charlie started beeping as his heart stopped, and he flat lined.

“No.” Don whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

The paramedic working on Charlie immediately started CPR. “I need help, tell my partner to pull over and come back here, fast.”

Don managed to drag his eyes away from Charlie and relayed the message to the paramedic driving the ambulance. He immediately pulled over and grabbed the defibrillator as he moved to Charlie. “Okay let me in there.”

Don watched anxiously as it took two attempts to restart Charlie’s heart. As a steady beep sounded from the monitor Don released the breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding. The two paramedics worked together to stabilize Charlie. Once they were satisfied he was stable, they resumed the interrupted drive to the hospital.

Don moved back to sit beside Charlie, gently taking hold of his hand. Even though he knew Charlie couldn’t hear him, he couldn’t stop himself from saying, “Charlie, don’t scare me like that again. I can’t lose you, so hold on ‘til we reach the hospital, okay Buddy?”

Suddenly Don’s cell phone rang. Granger was displayed in the window. “Eppes,” he answered.

“Don. We passed you. Is everything okay with Charlie?” Colby was concerned about his friend. He knew a stopped ambulance could only mean both paramedics were needed in the back.

“Charlie’s heart stopped, Colby. They managed to restart it, but for a while I thought I’d lost him. We’re back underway now, and should be arriving at the hospital shortly.”

“Alright Don, see you there.” Colby closed his phone then saw Amita’s questioning look, “There was a little problem with Charlie that required both paramedics, that’s all. Everything is okay now. They’ll be arriving shortly after we do.”

Both ambulances arrived at the hospital minutes apart, and all three patients were rushed into the emergency room. 

Alan was waiting at the doors, and seeing Charlie so pale and still brought him close to collapse. Colby, who was standing next to him managed to support him so he didn’t fall. Don rushed to his father to comfort him. “Dad, I’m sure Charlie is going to be fine, and it looks worse that it really is. Come on let’s go fill out the paperwork.”

Don and Colby helped Alan to the waiting room and found him a chair. Don went to the nurse’s station and was given the required paperwork for all three patients. Taking the three clipboards back to Alan he hoped it would keep him occupied until there was news about Charlie.

Amita was the first one the doctor came out to report on. She introduced herself as Dr Weston. She looked at Alan, “I was told that Amita’s family is in India. She asked me to talk to you Mr Eppes. Amita has a cracked sternum and a couple of her ribs are also cracked. These injuries were caused by the seatbelt, but it could’ve been a lot worse. Amita also has a slight concussion from hitting her head on the window during the crash. I’ll be releasing her in about an hour.”

“Thank you Dr Weston.” Said Alan. “We’ll take her home and look after her. Is there any news on my son Charlie Eppes or Larry Fleinhardt?”

“No, I’m sorry Mr Eppes we’re still working on them. I can tell you that your son is now in surgery to repair the bullet wound to his shoulder.” Just then Dr Weston’s pager went off. On seeing the message displayed, she glanced at Alan, “Excuse me, I have the go.”

Alan, Don and Colby looked on as she left, each one sure that the page was about Charlie. Alan fell back into his chair. Don sat down and put his head in his hands remembering the terror he’d felt when Charlie’s heart had stopped in the ambulance. Colby looked at both Alan and Don. He’d never seen either man look so beaten.

A few minutes later Dr Weston walked slowly back out of the ER. Don held his breath, fearing the worst as he watched her approach. Alan stood and spoke first before the doctor could say anything. “That page was about Charlie, wasn’t it?”

“Yes Mr Eppes it was. Charlie’s heart stopped again during surgery. The surgical team managed to restart it, and the surgery is continuing. If everything goes well they’ll be finished in another half an hour.”

With a surprised look, Alan asked, “His heart stopped again? When did it stop before?”

Dr Weston looked at Don. She’d been told he’d come in with his brother, and assumed he’d told his father about the problem in the ambulance. She looked back at Alan, “During the ride here Charlie’s heart also stopped. I’m sorry, I thought you knew.”

Alan sank back down into his chair. “No Dr Weston, I didn’t know.”

Sitting next to Alan, Dr Weston gently put her hand on his arm. “Mr Eppes, does Larry Fleinhardt have any family here? There’s pressure building up inside his skull and we need to drill a burr hole to release it.” 

“I can sign any paper work you need Dr. Weston.” Alan said. “Larry gave me authority over medical decisions.”

“Okay Mr Eppes, thank you. We’ll start the procedure right away. I’ll send the nurse out with the forms, and I’ll be back in a little while with Amita.” Turning Dr Weston hurried back into the E.R.

Alan turned and looked at Don. “You knew Charlie’s heart had stopped in the ambulance! Why didn’t you tell me?”

Don looked sheepish, “Dad, I didn’t want you to worry any more than you already were. The paramedics managed to restart his heart very quickly.”

“You should’ve told me Don,” Alan said sharply.

“Yeah Dad, I know. I’m sorry.” 

During the next few minutes none of the men spoke. Each busy with his own thoughts. When David came in, Colby got up and went to fill him in on the situation. Then they came and sat with Alan and Don to wait for more news.

It wasn’t long before Dr Weston came back out of the ER with Amita. Don stood and allowed Amita to take his seat next to Alan. 

Alan turned to Amita, “How are you dear? Would you like one of us to take you home so you can rest?”

“No Alan. I want to stay here until we know how Charlie and Larry are.” The was a catch in her voice as she continued, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t help Charlie. He was bleeding so much, and I tried to stop it, but I don’t think I did a very good job.” Amita was very close to tears.

Don sat down and put his arm around her shoulder. “Amita, you did everything you could for Charlie. Even though you were hurt, you still managed to slow down the bleeding from his shoulder. If you hadn’t done that I’m sure Charlie would’ve been much worse off. Here, lean against me and rest for a while, ‘til we can go see Charlie and Larry.”

Leaning against Don, Amita relaxed and settled down to wait for news.


	6. Chapter 6

It was almost an hour before Dr Weston came into the waiting room again. Don had moved with Amita to a more comfortable couch and she was now sleeping in his arms. David and Colby were still there also. As Dr Weston sat down next to Alan, Don gently woke Amita to hear what the doctor had to say.

Dr Weston smiled reassuringly. “Charlie is out of surgery and we’re hoping for a full recovery. The shoulder injury was very serious, and he lost a lot of blood, which we’ve been replacing. He also has some broken ribs caused by the tree branch. Luckily there were no other mayor injuries, just some bruises and cuts, and a seatbelt burn on his neck.” 

They’d all been listening intently as Dr Weston spoke. Now there was relief on every face. Alan spoke for them all, “Thank you Dr Weston. That’s good news. When can we see Charlie?” 

“Charlie will be moved from recovery into a room in a little while. I’ll have a nurse come and get you when he’s settled.” 

Suddenly looking more serious, the doctor continued, “Larry Fleinhardt was not quite so lucky. While he wasn’t hit by any of the branches, he does have a very severe head injury. If the bullet had been a little more to the right it would’ve entered his skull and he’d be dead. Hitting his head on the window has added to the trauma caused to his brain. We’ve released the pressure that was building up by drilling a burr hole. He’s now in an induced coma to try and prevent any further damage. I can’t say how long we’ll keep him this way, as we need to monitor the swelling in his brain. If all goes well during the next 48 hours, we’ll slowly start to wake him up. I have to warn you, we’re not sure at this point whether he’ll wake up at all.”

The relief on everyone’s faces had now turned to shock. “When he wakes up, and I believe he will. Do you think there’ll be brain damage?” Alan asked, acting as spokesperson for the group again. 

“We can’t tell until he’s conscious I’m afraid. He’ll be in ICU for a while yet. You may see him, but only two at a time. With that Dr Weston got up to leave.

“Thank you Dr Weston.” Alan said. He’d been so happy hearing the news about Charlie. Now he was stunned to learn the condition of his friend.

They all looked at each other. Finally, Amita voiced what they were thinking. “There’s no way Larry can have brain damage, or worse die. This can’t be happening. Larry has to be okay. Charlie would never forgive himself.” Tears were running down her face. Don put his arms around Amita and allowed her to cry on his shoulder. “Amita, Larry is strong, he’ll be fine you wait and see.” He looked over Amita to his dad needing help to deal with this.

“Amita, come sit with me,” Alan said coming over and turning Amita to him. He smiled at the relief on Don’s face. Then he sat on the couch holding Amita and rubbing her back.

When the nurse came to take them to see Larry, Don allowed his dad to help Amita and hung back to talk to David and Colby. “Do we have the whole gang now, or do we need to place a guard outside Charlie’s room?”

“We have the whole gang in custody,” said David. “Charlie’s safe now. One enforcer died at the scene, the other was taken to a different hospital in critical condition. I sent Nikki and Liz to look after things.”

Don ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “Good. I didn’t want to ask you in front of my dad. I think he’s been through enough tonight. If I can get Amita to leave after they bring Charlie up to the room, will you take her home for me? I don’t think dad will be leaving any time soon, and I don’t want to leave either.”

“Sure Don, we’ll take her home.” Colby replied. “Do you want us to stay with her, I’m not sure we should leave her alone.” 

“Let me call Robin and see if she’ll meet you at Charlie’s and stay with Amita.” Don took out his cell phone.

By now they’d reached a waiting room not far from ICU. Don saw Alan and Amita go in to see Larry, so he and his agents stayed in the waiting room. David and Colby sat down but Don went over to the window to call Robin. He explained what’d happened and asked if she’d go over to Charlie’s and look after Amita. Robin said she’d be waiting at Charlie’s when the others arrived. With a sigh of relief, Don went back over to David and Colby and sat down.

It wasn’t long before Alan and Amita came into the waiting room. They looked grim, and Amita had been crying again. After helping Amita to a seat, Alan said, “Larry looks awful. His head is wrapped in bandages and there’s a tube coming out of it. The nurse said it’s to help drain fluid off his brain. I think you guy’s should pass on visiting him. There’s nothing you can do anyway.”

A few minutes later the nurse came and told them they could now see Charlie, but again, only two at a time. Charlie’s room was in another wing, on the same floor. They all moved to a closer waiting room, Don told Alan and Amita to go in first. 

Alan was worried about seeing Charlie after seeing the state Larry was in. But Charlie looked okay, although Alan knew there were other injuries he couldn’t see. There were a few visible cuts and bruises. The seatbelt burn looked nasty, but otherwise he could have just been sleeping. An IV was hooked up replacing the blood he’d lost. Monitors were attached to him, and a plastic tube supplied oxygen to his nose. 

Going over to the side of the bed, Alan and Amita both stood looking at Charlie. “He looks so peaceful,” Amita whispered.

Looking at his youngest son, Alan tentatively reached out and brushed a few errant curls back from his forehead where he could see a bandage covering a cut. 

Alan noticed a couple of chairs in the corner and moved one behind Amita, she was looking a little unsteady on her feet. As she sat down Amita took hold of Charlie’s hand. 

Getting another chair, Alan sat on the other side of the bed and stroked Charlie’s other hand. They sat this way for a few minutes until Alan realised that Don would want to see his brother. Looking across at Amita, he saw she was almost asleep. Going around the bed, he gently put his hand on her shoulder, “Amita, I think you should go home and rest for a while. Then you can come back and sit with Charlie some more.”

Slowly standing up, Amita leaned against Alan, who led her from the room. When they arrived in the waiting room, Don immediately jumped to his feet. “Amita, David and Colby will take you to Charlie’s. Robin’s there and will stay with you while you rest. She’ll also bring you back when you’re ready.”

“Thanks Don. I’m so tired I hope I can stay awake ‘til we get there.”

David and Colby took up positions on either side of Amita and helped her from the room. Alan could hear Colby as they walked down the hallway. “Don’t worry Amita. If you fall asleep I’ll carry you in.”

Turning, Don followed Alan back to Charlie’s room. Alan immediately went to the chair he’d used before. Don stood for a moment looking at his brother. He’d been dreading seeing Charlie after the scare he’d had in the ambulance. Slowly he walked to the bed, and as he sat in the chair Amita had used, he took Charlie’s hand in his. It would be okay. Charlie looked better than he’d expected, and the doctor talked about a full recovery.

They sat this way, each holding a hand until Charlie started to stir. When he finally woke, they both smiled, “Welcome back buddy.”

“Yes, don’t ever scare me like that again Charlie. My poor old heart can’t take it.” Alan said in a teasing tone.

“Dad? Don?” Charlie said confused. Then his breath caught as he remembered why he was in hospital. Looking around Charlie asked, “How’s Amita? Oh! Larry? How’s Larry?”

“It’s okay son. Amita’s fine, although she’s a little banged up. We made her go home for some much needed rest, but she’ll be back later to see you. Larry’s not so good. He has a severe head injury from a bullet graze. The doctor’s have placed him in an induced coma for now.”

“No!” Charlie whispered. “Larry has to be all right. It’s my fault. I’m the one they were after. Larry is hurt because of me.”

“No Charlie, that’s not true.” Don needed to convince Charlie that this wasn’t his fault. “Larry’s hurt because those men chose to shoot at you, and run your car off the road. Not because of anything you did.”

“If I hadn’t worked on the case, or if I’d stayed in LA like you wanted, this wouldn’t have happened. So it’s my fault, Don.” 

“Charlie, if the computer tech hadn’t given them your name, none of this would’ve happened, so it’s really his fault.” Don said with a frustrated sigh.

“I don’t know if I believe that Don, but I’m too tired to think about it right now.” Unable to keep his eyes open any longer, Charlie slipped into sleep.

Don looked at his dad, “Larry had better wake up or Charlie’s going to blame himself for this forever.”

“I know Don.”


	7. Chapter 7

Two days later, Charlie was lying in bed staring at the ceiling, while Amita sat beside him grading papers. Charlie was steadily improving physically, but the doctors were concerned about his mental state. He hardly spoke to anyone, except when answering a question, then gave one word answers. 

Although Larry was still in a coma, he’d been moved into Charlie’s room the day before. They’d all hoped that having Larry in the same room would help Charlie. But Charlie still blaming himself for Larry’s condition, and every few minutes he’d look over at Larry with a pained expression in his eyes. 

The doctors had stopped the sedative, and removed the tube from Larry’s head before he was moved. But even though there was no sedative in his system, Larry had shown no signs of waking.

Seeing him looking at Larry again, Amita sighed, “Charlie, you have to stop blaming yourself. Larry wouldn’t blame you and you know that. It’s not your fault.” Amita got up and going over to Larry’s bed. “Larry you have to wake up and talk to Charlie, he’s blaming himself for your condition.” There was no response from Larry. 

Amita’s cell phone rang and she excused herself to go answer it out in the hallway. As soon as she left the room, Charlie slipped out of bed. He’d been warned not to move around too much, as his still healing ribs could cause internal damage if he wasn’t careful. He didn’t care he had to talk to Larry and try to wake him up.

He knew Amita would be mad, but it was something he just had to do. Charlie took Larry’s limp hand in his, “Please Larry, wake up. I really need my friend to talk to right now.” Not getting a response, Charlie started to rub the back of Larry’s hand. He stood like that for the few minutes it took Amita to come back into the room.

“Charlie, you shouldn’t be out of bed. If Alan comes back and sees you, we’ll both be in trouble.” Just then the door opened, but it was Don who came into the room.

Don stopped short as he saw Charlie standing a little unsteadily beside Larry’s bed. “Hey Amita, I see Charlie snuck out of bed. Better hope dad doesn’t catch you buddy.” 

Don walked over to Charlie intending to make him get back into bed. But seeing the determination in Charlie’s face knew it would do no good to argue with him. The fact that he’d gotten out of bed by himself, and could so easily have reinjured his ribs in the process, brought Don to a decision. But first he’d have to get Charlie back into bed, somehow. So going around the bed Don took Larry’s other hand in his and started to rub it the way Charlie was doing. “Come on Larry wake up. I think Charlie really needs to talk to you, so how about it?”

Suddenly, Larry’s eyelids started to flutter. “Don did you see that?” Charlie asked in an excited voice. Before Don could answer, Larry moaned. Don immediately pushed the call button for the nurse. It was obvious that Larry was close to waking up, and in pain.

The nurse rushed in, and seeing Larry was waking immediately called the doctor. Glaring at Charlie she told him to get back into bed before the doctor arrived. Don hurried around the bed to help Charlie, he didn’t want him moving too suddenly and hurting himself. The nurse then told Don and Amita to leave until after the doctor had examined Larry. 

Larry’s eyes were open by the time the doctor came in. The nurse drew the curtain so Charlie couldn’t see what was happening, but he could hear what was said.

The doctor spoke to Larry. “Mr. Fleinhardt can you hear me? How many fingers I am holding up.” Charlie couldn’t hear any answer from Larry. “Mr Fleinhardt what’s your first name. What year is it? Do you know where you are?” Charlie still heard no answer from Larry. At first he thought Larry had spoken too softly for him to hear. But at the doctor’s next words, he knew it was worse than that. 

“I’m sure he’s awake, but he doesn’t seem very aware of his surroundings. Nurse, please go call the neurologist he’ll need to run some tests.”

“Yes doctor.” The nurse rushed out of the room. The doctor followed at a slower pace glancing at Charlie as he went. 

Charlie was just getting out of bed again when Don and Amita came back in. “Whoa buddy. The nurse told us to keep you in bed. So back you go.” Don had rushed to Charlie and was gently pushing him back down into the bed.

“Don, I have to go to Larry. The doctors worried. I need to see Larry and talk to him. I know he’ll answer me.” Charlie tried to push up past Don, but Don was not going to allow it. Amita left to get the nurse. She could see that Charlie was becoming agitated and would hurt himself if he kept fighting to get out of bed.

The nurse took one look at the state Charlie was in, and immediately took a syringe from her pocket and injected it into his IV. “Now lay back and relax Charlie. You can’t help your friend by making yourself ill. We’ll know more about his condition after the neurologist comes to see him. Until then you need to relax.”

“What was that you gave him?” Don asked.

“Just a mild sedative to help him relax. The doctor thought there may be a need for it, and prescribed it after he left the room.”

Charlie had stopped trying to get out of bed and was lying back against the pillows looking very unhappy.

Amita was visibly upset by all of this. “Don, I’m going down to the cafeteria to find Alan. I’ll fill him in on what’s happened with Larry and Charlie.” 

“Okay Amita, but take your time, I want to talk to Charlie for a few minutes.” So giving Charlie a kiss on the cheek, Amita left the room.

Sitting down next to Charlie, Don took his hand to make him look at him. He knew that Charlie was not sedated enough to make him unable to understand what Don was about to say. After seeing Charlie trying to get out of bed a second time, Don knew that the decision he’d come to earlier was the right one.

“Charlie, we need to talk about what happened to you and Larry. I know that you’re blaming yourself, but it wasn’t your fault and you have to realise that, and deal with it. We found out that the enforcers had been following you around for two days before you left on your trip. The computer tech, Ward, had intercepted your last email to me, and realised you were on the case. He told the gang, and they sent the enforcers to watch you and report back. The day you left they were told to make sure you didn’t return to LA. They waited for a quiet stretch of highway before they tried anything. Then it took them another 30 minutes to get back to check up on what they’d done. Apparently they couldn’t find the right spot from the other side of the highway and went too far.”

Charlie was still looking at him, but Don couldn’t tell if he was listening. Now he’d started Don knew he needed to get everything said, so he kept going. “If they’d tried to do something at CalSci, or the house, it could have been a lot worse. It’s not your fault. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me. I should’ve known that the leak in the office might find out about your involvement. My getting mad at you about going away was wrong, and I’m sorry. I should’ve sent an agent with you, just to be on the safe side. Ever since we were kids you’ve been able to make me mad. So mad that I’d lose my temper and not think straight.”

Don could see that he had Charlie’s full attention now. He’d never opened up to Charlie this way before, but he knew now that it was necessary for Charlie to know how he felt. “When I got your second voice mail about the SUV, I was so scared. I drove like a mad man to get to you. We didn’t know how far along the I5 you were, and with each mile I feared the worst. If Amita hadn’t been with you, and called me, we could’ve driven right by, and then we would’ve been too late.” 

Seeing Charlie about to speak, Don held up his hand to stop him. “Let me finish Charlie. Please relax and wait for the neurologist to tell us about Larry. No more getting out of bed. I don’t want you to hurt yourself, and I can’t lose you. I couldn’t stand it.”

Charlie was staring at Don by the time he finished. He’d never heard Don open up like that. “Don, I’m sorry.” Charlie said as he squeezed Don’s hand. “I didn’t realise that my message had such an impact on you. You hadn’t said anything about it up until now. Would you have ever told me how you felt if you weren’t trying to make me stay in bed?”

“Yes Charlie I would’ve. This whole thing made me realise we needed to talk. I was planning on having this conversation, after your release. But seeing you standing by Larry’s bed made me decide to talk to you now. I’m sure that Larry will be alright, Charlie. I also know he won’t blame you.”

“You’re right Don, I wouldn’t, and I’m glad you two have worked things out.” Don and Charlie both jumped at the unexpected voice coming from behind the curtain around Larry’s bed. Don got up and pulled the curtain back to reveal a smiling Larry looking over at Charlie.

Charlie now had a huge grin on his face. “Larry you’re okay? The doctor seemed worried when he left. But you’re okay?”

“Yes, my young friend, I’m fine. I was confused. My head really hurt, and I couldn’t talk at first. Then I heard Don talking to you, and it sounded like you needed to hear my voice.”

Don went over to Larry and shook his hand. “Larry, I’m so glad to see you awake. I’m sure Charlie has a lot to talk to you about. Just don’t let him get out of bed.”

Don went back to Charlie and, with a grin, gave him a quick hug. Then he walked to the door. “I don’t think I can stand any more emotional stuff today, Charlie. I think I’ll go find dad and send him up. See you two later.”

Charlie smiled as Don left the room. “Larry, I’m so happy you’re alright. I couldn’t bear it if you weren’t.”

“Charles, as Don was telling you, it wasn’t your fault. I’m fine. Although I’m sure the doctors will run hundreds of tests just to prove it. So let’s both just relax and get better. I have some data I need you to work your magic on when we get out of here.”

Charlie lay back and smiled. Larry sounded like he was back to normal, and Don had finally opened up, and actually talked to him. “Okay Larry, I’m feeling much better already, and you know what?”

“No Charles what?”

“Life is good, Larry.”

“Yes Charles. Life is good.”

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you've enjoyed this old story, thanks for reading.


End file.
